When it comes to unfolding train wrecks, the best advice is to watch it happen from a safe distance.
Some call it cowboy talk. Others call it straight talk, plain talk, talking turkey or just plain English.
Methamphetamine is bad. Very bad. That pretty much goes without saying.
Anytime there is a substantial dollar investment in the local community it is good news, and that is why the new Oregon State Police crime lab facility is significant.
The Oregon Legislature’s interest in improving government transparency is as shallow as it can be to keep up appearances.
Outgoing Milton-Freewater school superintendent Rob Clark deserves a tip of the hat for shepherding a new school bond to voter approval.
The Legislature may not have enough days left for a bill that would give people a property tax break if they rent out rooms in their homes to low- to moderate-income people. And because the bi…
If Oregonians are lucky, the legislative clock will run out before lawmakers make House Bill 2005 law. The bill creates a new and expensive insurance program to provide paid family, medical or…
There is no better example of political failure than the move by Republican lawmakers to walk away from the Oregon Legislature Thursday.
The formation of a special workgroup of Pendleton city councilors to develop better methods to execute goals is a good idea and deserves more than a passing glance by city voters.
Businesses in Oregon face $1 billion in newly passed taxes earmarked for education reform. Climate change legislation pending in the Legislature promises to increase fuel and energy costs for …
In a perfect world children would not go hungry.
Joining the Oregon Education Association is simple for the approximately 44,000 educators who want to be members.
A tip of the hat to the individuals representing the state’s logging industry who convened at the Capitol last week to protest two climate bills — House Bill 2007 and HB 2020 — now under consi…
The United States and Mexico reached a last-minute deal June 7 that prevented the imposition of new tariffs threatened by the Trump administration.
The Democratic-controlled Legislature finally stood up to the public employee unions, and the unions are furious. They shouldn’t be.
In the past few weeks, two well-researched news reports from two highly regarded publications — one from the Malheur Enterprise and another from Willamette Week — examined the many business in…
It’s difficult to conceive of a piece of legislation richer in symbolism over substance than the ban on coyote-killing contests that the Oregon Senate approved by a 17-12 vote last week.
Last week the nation and Europe marked the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
The reason Oregonians can put their absolute trust in state government is because our elected leaders would never do something unfair with taxes.
They rarely get the type of attention and praise they deserve but a big tip of the hat to the teachers, parents, guidance counselors and administrators for all the help they provided students …
It appears the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may have seen the light. In its preliminary environmental impact statement, the agency has recommended against draining Detroit Lake. The reservoir …
Summer promises long days and great weather and often means vacations for area residents. That means taking to the highways and roads across the region and, almost inevitably, the summer fun i…
No matter what its supporters assert, Oregon House Bill 2020 isn’t ready for primetime.
A tip of the hat to the various agencies and businesses in Umatilla County working to lessen the impacts of layoffs and business closures in the area.
There is great irony in a legislative proposal to embrace the National Popular Vote, which would change how Oregon helps elect our nation’s president.
Chris Mertz, director of the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service field office in Olympia, Wash., says that while the number of small farms continues to grow, larger farms continue to…
Voters across the region will gain an excellent opportunity to give input and ask questions at a series of town hall meetings this week sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley.
In the end, the discussion about street upgrades in Pendleton comes down to a question of priorities.
A tip of the hat to Sunridge Middle School and Pendleton School District for their decision to hire Eric Virgil, who was born with an intellectual disability that makes learning, problem solvi…
Stanfield voters made the right choice this week when they approved an $18 million bond.
A bill before the state Legislature that would dramatically curtail the cases in which the death penalty could be applied passed the state Senate on Tuesday and now heads for the House.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown last week wrote one of the most interesting letters we’ve ever read. It was addressed to Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt.
Union Pacific calls it a “workforce reduction” to quicken its “continuous improvement plan.”
A tip of the hat to the Pendleton Underground Tours on their 30th anniversary. Memories and stories about the popular tourist attraction abound.
At first glance, it is a bit difficult to aptly describe the latest initiative by the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners.
Unable to reach a trade deal with China and end punishing tariffs, President Trump last week promised American farmers and ranchers a new round of aid as the protracted trade battle intensified.
One of the common themes you heard last week as teachers across Oregon rallied for a proposed tax on business that’s projected to raise $1 billion a year for K-12 schools was this: It’s not ab…
Oregon voters watched Monday as political drama took center stage in Salem when Republican members of the Senate returned after a weeklong walkout.
Spreading positivity. Seems like a good goal and one we should all strive for, and an antidote to the ugliness that can creep in.
Let’s take stock of the progress of the gray wolf’s recovery in the Lower 48 states, shall we?
A tip of the hat to the new historical marker slated for Pendleton’s Main Street to pay tribute to the Triple Nickles.
It should come as no surprise that the dairy industry drives a large portion of the Northwest agricultural economy.
The Oregon Senate passed a bill that would see the state join the National Popular Vote Compact, delegating its electoral votes in the presidential election to the winner of the popular vote r…
Gov. Kate Brown’s nomination of Enterprise rancher and big game hunter James Nash to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission shouldn’t be controversial.
There was potential good news and bad news this week for some Oregon businesses.
The Oregon Legislature came oh-so-close to succeeding.
In 10 years, the labor shortage in U.S. agriculture will be a thing of the past.
A tip of the hat to Blue Mountain Community College for recognizing the value of a great instructor and being willing to invest financially in keeping him at the school.
Every 10 years, as one decade transitions into the next, the U.S. government conducts a national census to count the number of people living in the country.
Our differences are well documented. Lines drawn along political, philosophical, ethnic and religious divides give the impression that we’re all on different teams.
We can’t wait to dig into the data released last week with the 2017 Census of Agriculture.
A tip of the hat to the volunteers who jumped into action over the past week in Pendleton to protect against the rising waters.
The good news is Gov. Kate Brown finally has a plan for putting PERS on solid financial footing. The bad news is that it includes pushing SAIF off that solid ground, as well as taking most of …
The city of Pendleton is at a crossroads when it comes to streets and infrastructure.